The present invention is an improvement on Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 8,858,480 and is incorporated herein by reference. By way of example only and not by way of limitation, a problem exists with regard to rehabilitation after injury or surgery. When a person suffers a knee injury, again for example only, the accepted practice is to stabilize the joint while it heals. Motion of the joint is often completely prohibited for a period of time. Once motion is permitted, prior art devices limit motion in all directions except one, for example, front to back motion only. The range of this motion, by prior art devices, may be gradually increased but is, again, limited to one axis only. Initially, prior art devices, braces and the like, are well suited to helping a user recover gradually from the injury by permitting limited motion in only one direction. A problem has been identified by the Applicant, however, in that a joint in order to fully recover must be allowed to move in any normal direction. However, that motion must be controllable such that it is limited to begin with and adjustable as the joint and muscles recover strength.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a device that is capable of progressing in range of motion as healing of the joint progresses while still protecting against re-injury due to over extension during healing or after where the range of motion is controllable in all directions including front to back while allowing some motion in all directions.
It therefore is an object of this invention to provide an improved adjustable, multi-axis, motion stabilizer apparatus and method that can fully immobilize an appendage such as an arm, leg, or neck, for example only and not by way of limitation, and that can expand its range of motion gradually and in limited ranges in all directions, including front to back, as the joint heals and which can be used after recovery to allow a full range of motion within a safe injury free range. It is a further object to simplify the operation of the apparatus and increase its ease of operation at the same time.